Healing Time
by Trixta
Summary: 2 years after Buffy dies, Spike tries to cheer up Dawn when she's depressed. An old friend returns. **Chapter 5 now easier to read**
1. Default Chapter

Healing Time  
  
  
  
Rating: PG-13 (For Spike's swearing. Bad Spike!)  
  
Category: Spike/Dawn friendship. Willow/Oz  
  
Summary: 2 years after Buffy dies, Spike tries to cheer up Dawn when she's depressed. An old friend returns.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy or any of the characters, they belong to the brilliant Joss When, Fox TV, the Grrr Argh bloke etc.  
  
~~~~~~~~  
  
Dawn sat in silence on the sofa watching MTV. Well, I say watching but really the TV was on and Dawn was staring in the vague direction of it, but her mind was elsewhere. Suddenly she was startled from her daydream by a harsh British accent floating in from the kitchen. "Pet, how many times do I have to tell you that the Backstreet Boys are unbelievably lame. Turn that crap off right now."  
  
Dawn smiled faintly and mentally shook herself out of her dream world. She was thinking of Buffy – again. It had been 2 years since she had died but recently she had been getting depressed more than usual. Spike poked his head round from the kitchen and narrowed his eyes at Dawn. "Nibblet, I told you to turn that off. If I have to hear one more minute of that bloody mindless music, so help me, my chip will NOT stop me shoving my fist through that screen." She smiled sheepishly at him, but switched off the TV none the less. Spike had kept his promise to Buffy, he had looked out for Dawn and she had been living with Giles for the past two years. He came to visit her a lot, as did the rest of the scoobies. Tonight he was babysitting while Giles worked at the magic shop.  
  
He came into the living room carrying a large tub of Ben and Jerry's chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream and a mug of blood. He handed the ice cream with a spoon to Dawn and settled down next to her on the couch. Dawn idly ate the ice cream as her mind began to wander again. Spike eyed her warily. She had been acting strange lately and he intended to get the bottom of it.  
  
"You okay, Nibblet? Anythin' bothering you at school or summit?"  
  
Dawn shook her head slowly and turned to look at Spike. "Did you know that next week it's exactly two years since Buffy died?"  
  
Spike suddenly understood why she was so down. He nodded and looked at his mug. "Yeah, I remembered, Pet. I was trying to forget, to be honest with you." He remembered that she had gone through the same thing last year, only worse. He suddenly had an idea. He downed his blood and set his mug down on the table, making the table wobble slightly. He stood up and turned to face Dawn. "C'mon, Pet. Just for tonight we're gonna forget all of our worries and enjoy ourselves for once." She looked slightly taken aback. "And what exactly do you intend we do?" She asked sceptically. He grinned at her. "Well, Pet, I heard that there's a band at the Bronze tonight. Not one of my particular favourites but guaranteed to cheer you up." Dawn tilted her head slightly to one side as she considered the idea of getting out of the house for the evening. She finally nodded and grinned at Spike. "Ok. I'll just go get my coat."  
  
Half an hour later Dawn returned. Spike looked up at her from his seat on the couch. "Nibblet, you said you were getting your coat. You've completely changed your clothes!" Dawn giggled. She had changed from her baggy clothes into a pair of heavily flared black cords and a deep purple halter neck top, completed by a pair of clumpy black buffaloes. She had grabbed her soft dark brown, suede coat on the way in to the living room. She put it on and stood waiting for Spike to get up. "You finally ready now, Pet?" She nodded and giggled again. He sighed and stood up, stopped to write a note Giles and they left.  
  
Walking down the streets Dawn began to feel happy for the first time in a while. He fitted coat came to just above her knees and was blowing backwards, along with her slightly wavy hair, in the breeze. The sight of the vampire and the girl was making a few heads turn as they walked down the streets. Most of these heads quickly turned back and tried to get away without drawing too much attention to themselves. These were the smarter of the vampires, who knew it was best to avoid a run in with Spike as not many vamps had lived to tell the tale. One or two heads did stay turned though. "Dawn?" Dawn and Spike stopped in their tracks. Dawn turned slowly. She relaxed when she saw it was just a few kids from school. She smiled at them. "Hey guys." Then she saw her. Kirsty. She was making her way towards them from the other side of the street. "Hey everyone." She saw Dawn and smirked at her. "Hey Dawnie." She whined. "You feeling better? I noticed you were crying earlier." Dawn narrowed her eyes at her. "I wonder why that was, Kirsty." Kirsty flicked her hair over her shoulder. "Hmmm. I wonder…" Kirsty looked as if she had just noticed Spike for the first time. She tried her best to smile seductively at him. He noticed this and showed no sign of smiling back. She tried another tactic. "Who's your…friend, Dawn?" Dawn looked at Spike who was stood just behind her right shoulder. His eyes flashed yellow. He was not happy about Dawn stopping his was to the bar. She looked back at Kirsty. "Um…this is Spike." Kirsty's smile widened even more. "What an interesting name." Dawn felt Spike tense behind her and she could hear him growling softly. "Make 'em bugger off Pet or I'll be giving my chip a test run." He murmured. "Um…guys we're gonna have to go." Kirsty's face fell. Spike smiled to himself about this. "That's right. There are about fifty bottles of vodka at that bar with my name on them." One of the guys sniggered. "Hey, 'Spike' you drink that much you're gonna die." Spike grinned back and his eyes flashed yellow at them. "Been there. Done that. Now why don't you little fuckwits bugger off and let me get to that bar, eh?" With that he grabbed Dawn's arm and turned her in the direction they were heading in, leaving a slightly confused group of teenagers trying to work out why Dawn was with such a strange guy.  
  
Spike had been right. There was a band playing tonight. Dawn couldn't quite see what they were called. Spike went to get himself a beer and got Dawn a coke. While she was sat the table waiting for Spike to return with the drinks, she heard the lead singer announcing the interval. She could have sworn she knew that voice from somewhere. She sat staring at the crowd, not paying any attention to anything in particular. Then she heard a voice next to her. "Hey Dawnie." She turned around. "Hey Willow. Where's Tara?" Willow smiled at her and sat next to Dawn. "Oh, she wasn't feeling too good, so she stayed at home tonight." Dawn nodded. Spike returned with the drinks and nodded at Willow. "Hey Red." She smiled back at him. Willow and Dawn continued to chat about various things when Dawn suddenly trailed off mid sentence. Willow looked puzzled. "What is it Dawn?" Then she heard a voice behind her. "Hey Willow." She turned around to see who it was. She paled slightly when she recognised him. "Oz!"  
  
~~~~~~~~  
  
So waddya think? Should I continue?  
  
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!  
  
:D Trixta 


	2. One tiquilla, two tiquilla, three tiquil...

Rating: PG-13 (For Spike's swearing. Bad Spike!)  
  
Category: Spike/Dawn friendship. Willow/Oz  
  
Summary: 2 years after Buffy dies, Spike tries to cheer up Dawn when she's depressed. An old friend returns.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy or any of the characters, they belong to the brilliant Joss When, Fox TV, the Grrr Argh bloke etc.  
  
Note: Thanx to everyone who's reviewed my stories. And I spaced the conversations out for you Stargazur. :D  
  
~~~~~~~~  
  
Willow stared open mouthed at Oz. She had never expected to see him again. After a while he grinned at her.  
  
"Hey, Will. You gonna stand there gawpin' at me or you gonna give me a hug?"  
  
Willow relaxed slightly and smiled. She hugged him and stood back, unsure of what to do. Spike had noticed the tension between them and was thoroughly enjoying watching their discomfort. Dawn suddenly stood up and grabbed Spike's arm. "C'mon, Spike. Let's get another drink." Spike shrugged and followed Dawn to the bar. Dawn looked back at Willow and smiled encouragingly at her. Willow smiled back, grateful that Spike had left. She looked back at Oz. He was shuffling his feet and looking very uncomfortable.  
  
"Um, Oz, why don't you sit down?"  
  
He sat down gratefully.  
  
"Will, I have…so much to tell you. So much that you've missed…how much you've been missed."  
  
Willow began to relax slightly and settled back into the chair. She ran a hand through her hair thoughtfully for a minute. Then she stood up and took Oz's hand.  
  
"C'mon, Oz, let's go somewhere to talk. You have loads to catch up on from around here. And there's one really important thing you need to know…"  
  
~~~~~~~~  
  
Spike grinned stupidly as he stumbled along the street. It was four hours since they had left Oz and Willow and gone to the bar at the Bronze and Spike had been drowning his sorrows in vodka and tequila all evening. This left Dawn with the precarious task of trying to guide him in the vague direction of home. Just when she thought she would get away with it she saw a familiar group of teenagers leant up against a wall up ahead. 'Oh no' she thought. She braced herself for the worst. However, the sight of her walking along the street with the drunken vampire whose arm was fixed solidly to her waist, whilst singing an amazingly out of tune version of Metallica's 'Master of Puppets' at the top of his voice, was pretty hard to miss.  
  
"Dawn?!"  
  
'Damn! They saw me.'  
  
"Hey guys! You have a good evening."  
  
Spike stopped his singing and looked up at Dawn's friends and frowned.  
  
"What do you prats do? Find a street corner and inhabit it for the evening?"  
  
One of the boys stepped forward.  
  
"Yeah. What of it."  
  
"Well you could get hurt for one thing. Then again, it wouldn't bother me if you stupid fucking tossers got killed."  
  
The guy looked at him skeptically.  
  
"Oh, yeah. Who's gonna come kill us mister?"  
  
Spike snorted in laughter and grinned evilly at them.  
  
"Well I would kill you in a heartbeat. Shame I aint got one though…I could have timed it."  
  
One of the girls stepped forward.  
  
"Yeah, whatever. You're too drunk to anything."  
  
Spike was getting angry. His brain wasn't functioning properly due to the immense ammount of alcohol he had drank and the demon was beginning to show its face.  
  
"I may be drunk, Pet, but I'm the Big Bad and you'll be shit-scared when I'm finished."  
  
He had shifted into his game-face without realising it. The teenagers were frozen, shocked at what was stood in front of him. Dawn looked at them puzzled, then turned to look at Spike. When she saw his face, she shuddered subconciously. She tightened her fist into a ball and shoved it as hard as she could into his stomach. Spike doubled over in pain and looked at her in confusion. The shock had shook him out of his vamp visage, despite the fact his eyes were still yellow. She turned to face her friends.  
  
"Um…guys…we really have to go now. I…um have to get him home. See you on Monday."  
  
She led Spike down the street and he slipped both his arms around her waist. She gave an exasperated sigh and continued to lead Spike back to Giles'.  
  
~~~~~~~~  
  
Waddya think? Please read and review. The next chapter will focus more on Willow and Oz.  
  
:D Trixta 


	3. Saying Goodbye

Rating: PG-13 (For Spike's swearing. Bad Spike!)  
  
Category: Spike/Dawn friendship. Willow/Oz  
  
Summary: 2 years after Buffy dies, Spike tries to cheer up Dawn when she's depressed. An old friend returns.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy or any of the characters, they belong to the brilliant Joss When, Fox TV, the Grrr Argh bloke etc.  
  
Note: Thanx to everyone who's reviewed my stories. Hope you are enjoying it. (  
  
~~~~~~~~  
  
Willow and Oz were sat in an all-night coffee shop, with two mugs of rapidly cooling drinks in front of them. Oz had listened to Willow's story of Buffy's death with a blank expression on his face. Willow had become worried about him when he said nothing, so she had taken him to the coffee shop instead of the crowds at the Bronze. Oz sipped his mocha slowly. Willow looked at him with a concerned look on her face. She tentatively reached out and squeezed his hand. He smiled at her faintly.  
  
"You okay? I know it's a lot to deal with at once."  
  
Oz nodded and sipped his drink again. He paused for a moment before looking up at Willow.  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just…I mean…if I hadn't left…"  
  
He trailed off. Willow linked her fingers with his.  
  
"Oz, even if you had been here, nothing would have changed. No one could have stopped Buffy. Even Spike couldn't manage it."  
  
Oz looked confused.  
  
"Spike tried to help? I mean I know he was all chipped now but how come he helped? And why were you guys with him at the Bronze?"  
  
"Well, he kind of, um, fell in love with Buffy."  
  
"With Buffy?"  
  
"Yeah. Anyway, the night she died Spike promised to look after Dawn."  
  
"And has he?"  
  
"Yeah. They've become really good friends."  
  
Oz raised his eyebrows and took another sip of his drink.  
  
"I would have like to have been here for the funeral, you know, say goodbye properly. And Joyce's too."  
  
Willow nodded and then began giggling.  
  
"Um, Oz?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"You have cream round your mouth."  
  
She motioned to his face. He made a pathetic attempt to wipe it off. Willow sighed and grabbed a tissue to wipe it off for him. They both giggled. Oz stood up and motioned for Willow to follow.  
  
"C'mon. Let's go for a walk. I still have loads to tell you."  
  
"Yeah. And we can visit the graves if you like?"  
  
He nodded.  
  
"Yeah, that's be nice."  
  
Willow took his hand and followed him out of the coffee shop.  
  
~~~~~~~~  
  
Dawn stumbled into the house, Spike in tow. Giles hurriedly rushed to them.  
  
"What happened? Are you ok, Dawn? I was so worried."  
  
Dawn smiled tiredly at him.  
  
"We're fine," she replied. "Spike's just had about three bottles too many."  
  
Giles narrowed his eyes.  
  
"Three bottles of what?"  
  
"Smirnoff blue vodka and tiquila."  
  
Giles raised his eyebrows.  
  
"Yes…well…I think we best let him sleep on the couch tonight."  
  
Dawn nodded and led Spike into the living room. He lay down on the sofa and after a few minutes was snoring happily. Giles' voice drifted in from the hall.  
  
"Dawn. Bed, now. We'll talk about this tomorrow."  
  
Dawn looked down at Spike's sleeping form and spent the next five minutes trying to disentangle her fingers from Spike's hand. As they had been walking home he and stumbled and grabbed her hand to keep him upright. He had refused to let go the entire way home and she had had to put up with his drunken version of the Smashing Pumpkins 'Bullet with Butterfly Wings' very loudly in her ear. It had taken him five minutes of repeating 'The world is a vampire, set to drain'. Before remembering any of the other lyrics. Dawn finally managed to get her hand free from his tight grip and stumbled upstairs to bed.  
  
~~~~~~~~  
  
Willow watched Oz's face as he explained to her about his travels. They were walking hand in hand through Sunnydale cemetery towards where the two graves lay.  
  
"So you see, it wasn't because of you that I kept wolfing out. It was because I thought it was."  
  
Willow gave him a confused look.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"See, I met this old Buddhist guy and he told me that because I wanted so badly for it to have nothing to do with you, my subconscious became convinced that it was."  
  
Willow nodded slowly and smiled.  
  
"I think I get it."  
  
Oz smiled back at her.  
  
They came to a halt in front of the two headstones. The cemetery was silent and a faint breeze rustled in the leaves above their heads. Oz squeezed his eyes shut for a moment and sighed. Willow rested her head on his shoulder.  
  
"'She saved the world…a lot'. Yeah I guess that kinda sums it up." He said softly.  
  
They just stood staring at the headstone for about fifteen minutes in silence. Then they turned and walked back the way they had came. Willow turned to face Oz.  
  
"So what now?"  
  
"We could…um…go back to my hotel room?"  
  
Willow opened her mouth to speak.  
  
"Just to talk." He said hurriedly. "Give us some time to catch up, you know?"  
  
"Oz…me and Tara are kind of…um…you know…"  
  
"Yeah, I know. I can smell her on you. I'm…um…glad you're happy."  
  
She smiled at him and nodded.  
  
"Ok. Let's go."  
  
He leaned over and kissed her forehead and they walked out of the cemetery.  
  
~~~~~~~~  
  
The next chapter will be the whole morning after thing. I hope u guys r enjoying this.  
  
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!!!  
  
:D Trixta 


	4. Facing the people

Rating: PG-13 (For Spike's swearing. Bad Spike!)  
  
Category: Spike/Dawn friendship. Willow/Oz  
  
Summary: 2 years after Buffy dies, Spike tries to cheer up Dawn when she's depressed. An old friend returns.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy or any of the characters, they belong to the brilliant Joss When, Fox TV, the Grrr Argh bloke etc.  
  
Note: Thanx to everyone who's reviewed my stories. Hope you are enjoying it. (  
  
Special Shout Out: to my baby cousin Mia who was born yesterday. (  
  
~~~~~~~~  
  
Dawn walked with her head down to art after lunch. Kirsty had made sure that everyone had heard about their encounter with Spike and Dawn wasn't quite sure how to react when that group of people had suddenly started avoiding her in the corridors. She made it to the art room and sat down on one of the stools.  
  
Half way through the lesson, one of the guys sat next to her leaned over and whispered to her.  
  
"Hey, Summers, isn't that your 'friend'?"  
  
Dawn looked up and began to pale when she Spike stood outside the classroom. He was looking at her with a cigarette hanging out the corner of his mouth. The teacher had noticed him standing there as well and began to head for the door. Dawn tried to hide behind her drawing and prayed to the gods that there was nothing wrong.  
  
"Excuse me, sir. But there is a strictly non-smoking rule in this school."  
  
Spike looked at her with a blank expression on his face. He stepped into the classroom, his gaze fixed on Dawn.  
  
"Right…"  
  
He turned back to face the teacher and made no attempt to put out his cigarette. Every student was watching him, some wondering who he was, others remembering the drunken blond they had seen the other night.  
  
"My name's Sp-…uh…William. I'm here to see Miss. Summers."  
  
The teacher looked at him apprehensively.  
  
"Well I'm afraid, William, that you need to have a valid reason to drag Miss. Summers out of a class."  
  
Spike glanced over at Dawn and smiled to himself as he saw her trying to cleverly hide herself behind a large piece of paper and a jar of discoloured water.  
  
"I'm a friend."  
  
Spike took a drag of his cigarette and blew smoke in her face. He turned to the class and headed towards Dawn. Twenty faces watched him walk up behind her and whisper something in her ear. Dawn's eyes widened and she looked at him disbelievingly. He nodded and whispered for her to follow him. Dawn slid off her stool and followed Spike to the front of the class. She tried to ignore the faces watching her. Spike recognised one of the girls that had been in the street while he was drunk. He grinned evilly at her and his eyes flashed yellow. She quickly looked somewhere else.  
  
The teacher was insistent that they weren't going anywhere.  
  
"Look, William, I've told you, you can't take Dawn anywhere."  
  
"How are you gonna stop me?"  
  
The teacher looked helplessly at Dawn. She shook her head.  
  
"Sorry, miss, I'm with Sp- William on this one."  
  
Spike smiled at her.  
  
"Now we really have to be off, lady. So if you would mind stepping away from the door?"  
  
The teacher held her ground and shook her head.  
  
"No. You aren't going anywhere."  
  
Spike stepped towards her menacingly and growled softly. He took hold of the woman's arm and pushed her gently but firmly away from the door. Dawn's teacher was supprised at his strength. Spike dropped his cigarette and ground it out with the ball of his foot, his heavy combat boots thick with dust and splattered with faint traces of blood. He nodded in acknowledgement at the teacher and, slipping an arm round Dawn's waist steered her out of the door.  
  
~~~~~~~~  
  
When they were far enough away from the classroom, Dawn turned to Spike.  
  
"What do you mean, Willow's missing?"  
  
"Just that. Her little girlfriend came trotting along to Giles' to say that she hadn't been home for days. She never showed up after we left her with the wolf."  
  
"Maybe they…went somewhere. I dunno quite where but… Oh I have no idea! Where the hell could she be?"  
  
Spike smiled at her.  
  
"No problems, Nibblet. The Dingoes are playing at the Bronze tonight so me and you can pop along and ask the wolf some questions can't we?"  
  
"Uh… Spike, it's a school night. The last thing I need is you getting smashed on me. Again."  
  
"Don't worry, I've cleared it with Giles, tonight we're gonna party."  
  
"Right. So why have you dragged me out of school?"  
  
"Giles needs your help for some research. Peaches has showed up and they wanna make sure whatever they're looking for isn't gonna get you."  
  
Dawn sighed. They were always so overprotective of her since Buffy died. She was the last Summers woman left, they said, so they had to make sure she was ok. This was very annoying for Dawn, but despite all her complaining they refused to stop.  
  
As they approached the school doors the bell rang for next period. Students began to storm out of classrooms. Spike picked up the sheet lying on the floor he had left when he came in. He threw it over his head and made a mad dash for the car. Dawn was about to follow him when a voice called to her from the corridor.  
  
"Dawnie, wait up. Where ya going?"  
  
Dawn turned round to see her best friend running down the corridor towards her.  
  
"Um…I have to go. I'll call you later."  
  
With that, Dawn turned and ran out of the doors towards Spike's dirty black car. Her friend watched the car drive off and turned back to her locker, confused.  
  
~~~~~~~~  
  
Waddya think? You can find out what has happened to Willow in the next chapter, which I will write and post soon.  
  
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!!!!!  
  
Thanx,  
  
Trixta  
  
-x- 


	5. Entrapment

Rating: PG-13 (For Spike's swearing. Bad Spike!)  
  
Category: Spike/Dawn friendship. Willow/Oz  
  
Summary: 2 years after Buffy dies, Spike tries to cheer up Dawn when she's depressed. An old friend returns.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy or any of the characters, they belong to the brilliant Joss When, Fox TV, the Grrr Argh bloke etc.  
  
Note: Thanx to everyone who's reviewed my stories. Hope you are enjoying it. (  
  
~~~~~~~~  
  
Willow slowly stirred and opened her eyes. She ached and her eyes were taking a while to focus. When they did she realised she was lying on a large bed, with and ornate wooden headboard and soft blue sheets. Someone was sat in a chair next to her and, raising her green eyes slowly, realised in her horror that it was Oz. His grey T-shirt was bloodstained and his eyes were cold, simply staring into Willow's face. "O-Oz? What's going on? Where are we?"  
  
Oz's face remained expressionless as he stared at her with blank eyes. She reached up to her forehead and found that she had a deep cut running from her forehead and across her eyebrow. So that was her blood on his shirt. The sight of her own blood on her fingers made her squirm involuntarily and she quickly wiped it off onto the bedsheet. Willow's gaze went back to Oz's eyes. They were so cold. It was pretty obvious that he was not on her side, and she desperately wanted to get out of here. Her eyes darted nervously about the room and she spied a door in one wall. Maybe if she just ran.? She quickly looked back to Oz's cold, unblinking eyes and then to the door. In a second she made up her mind. She planted both hands firmly on the bed, pushed and ran as fast as she could in the direction of the door.  
  
~~~~~~~~  
  
Dawn stood in the doorframe between the kitchen and the living room in Giles' apartment, with a mug of chocolate in her hands. Spike was sat in a big armchair, watching Giles pace back and forth, with a bored expression on his face. Anya was sat on Xander's lap in a comfy chair. Xander was looking about with a worried look on his face. Meanwhile Tara was sat quietly at one end of the sofa, her mouth pulled into a thin line and her eyes watery. Finally Giles stopped pacing and spoke.  
  
"OK. Where was she last seen?"  
  
"The Bronze with the wolf." Replied Spike.  
  
Tara inwardly flinched at the mention of Oz. She didn't particularly like him. He was, after all, the man whom Willow had loved more than life itself at one point.  
  
"Ah yes. Oz's return. Is it possible, maybe, that she is simply with him? The last time he came back they were up all night talking."  
  
"No."  
  
Giles turned to face Tara. Puzzled as to why she had said this.  
  
"What makes you so sure?"  
  
"I can feel it."  
  
Xander looked at her, a mocking look upon his face.  
  
"Oh 'you can feel it'. Tara, what do you mean you can feel it? She's probably just with Oz, why can't you just accept that possibility?"  
  
Tara looked down, blinking away tears.  
  
"Do you have any idea what it's like knowing that you have the person you love in your arms, but their heart will always be elsewhere? That there's always a risk that you could loose that person in heartbeat because part of them loves someone else?"  
  
Xander sat in silence. To their supprise, though, Spike spoke.  
  
"Yeah I do. But I also know there's no point in giving up and jumping to conclusions. She probably just got tired and crashed at his place or something."  
  
Tara nodded.  
  
"I suppose so."  
  
~~~~~~~~  
  
Willow slammed against the door and fiddled with the handle. Unsurprisingly it was locked. She braced herself, expecting to feel Oz grab her or hit her or something, but instead felt. nothing. She slowly turned around and saw that Oz was still sat in the chair, staring at where Willow had been led on the bed. Her expression became puzzled and she cautiously began walking towards him. As she got closer her eyes widened. Protruding from his back was a rather nasty looking knife hilt. Meaning that the blade was actually inside him. She felt sick and a tear slipped silently down her cheek. She quickened her pace and knelt next to him. The bloodstain on his T-shirt was from where he had bled from his wound. He hadn't captured Willow, or betrayed her, or done anything to her. He was simply.dead. It explained his eyes, that cold hard stare that made her shiver. More tears began to slip from Willow's eyes and she reached out to touch his face. Willow's breath caught in her throat and her mouth fell open as, under her touch, Oz's figure slowly faded away, leaving an empty chair and Willow sat on the floor in shock.  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
Waddya think?? PLEASE read and review.  
  
Thanx to every1 who's reading this story and I hope you're enjoying it.  
  
Trixta  
  
-x- 


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